PL & P : In your particular realm of work , both technically and creatively , what are some of your main considerations for achieving a good shoot , and how might that differ from your previous work away from the camera ?
Sadler : I suppose it depends on the product . But for the most part , dealing with the cameras is a more technical piece of it , where you need to hit certain targets , you need to work with a video operator who ’ s sitting in another room operating camera control units and looking at your work , and he wants to make sure that you ’ re giving him the right levels and the right colour temperatures , so he can do his part and make the picture look the best it can for broadcast purposes .
It ’ s a lot more integrated . You ’ re also working with a director who wants to get the right shot from the right angle , and then you ’ ve got to make sure you ’ re lighting it from that angle , or you ’ ll have a producer who wants it to look a certain way . And so , you ’ re really taking in a lot more — a lot more people , a lot more influence that you ’ re working with to get the end result . So , a concert , it ’ s a little more liberal ; you know , you can work with the band , perhaps you might be at a festival where there ’ s a few cameras doing the IMAG thing . But television ’ s a little more complicated , I think . Certainly , it ’ s a much larger setup , usually , and a lot more planning that goes in . We ’ d work on Drag Race for months before we shoot , and a lot of TV shows work months [ in advance ], some of them work year-round . As soon as they finish one season , they ’ re getting ready for next .
Keenleyside : In a theatre show , you ’ re making sure the sets , people , and everything can be seen from 30 feet away in the dark . Often , you direct the action , and you direct the audience ’ s attention with light more than anything . In film and TV , obviously , we do that with the camera . We do that with light a lot as well , especially depending on the style of the show ; depending on the tone that the DPs and the directors are going for , we might do more or less of that with live effects . But often , more of that space shaping when it comes to how action is directed and how attention moves throughout a scene is done more with the camera .
So , that means that we obviously focus a lot more on making individual people and things look good , proportionally and intensitywise , to kind of make the composition right . But there ’ s a lot more focus on , for example , what an individual character in a particular frame needs to look good . It doesn ’ t matter if that requires a source that ’ s 15 degrees off from where the window actually is ; you can make that look wonderful because of the magic of editing and camera work , so there are slightly different priorities in that sense . Just because the pair of eyes that is looking at the thing is not sitting 30 feet over there in one spot . But the principles are the same , your photometrics are the same , your colour theory is the same , and what is pleasing or displeasing or goes together . All those principles still hold , and the approaches used in live entertainment are very translatable .
Leroux : It ’ s all about key light and what the colour temperature is . You want some sort of light meter there for sure . I have a little iPhone one called the Lumu . I mostly do concert shoots , but the same applies with these other things .
But as far as it comes to video recording a live concert , I usually want to make sure that my colour temperature is balanced with the cameras ; so , you use a light meter . You have to make sure that you ’ re getting enough light for the camera as well . Unless you have the proper equipment for it , it can ’ t be a dimly lit thing . It ’ s got to be a very controlled environment , lighting-wise . You need to make sure that that your colours ( whites ) are balanced , and that way you can match up everything so the colour blue , or red , or whatever will look on camera like it looks to you in real life , which is what you want . You don ’ t want colours to be messing around from eyeball to camera .
Sepulveda : I think the most important thing is to have a clear understanding and communication with the director / cinematographer for the mood of the story you are going to light . This will ensure the crew are all on the same page , which is essential for every scene in the shoot . In film , you have studio days , which is a comfortable set because you have your lights already pre-rigged , and what you need is maybe a few areas to fill in light for the actors .
So , a typical day on set is you start off with blocking the actors , and blocking is sort of like a rehearsal where you ’ re finding out the choreography . They have their discussion , let ’ s say it ’ s two people , and they move around the space ; we kind of rehearse the whole scene . And at that time , the camera operator is talking to the cinematographer about angles , what looks good , and once blocking is over ( and usually it lasts about half an hour to 45 minutes ), the cinematographer asks for special lighting equipment for this particular setup . They decide , “ Okay , this is going to be a one or two-camera setup , we ’ ll have the cameras on dollies , or one camera on a jib or crane ,” et cetera and they try to make [ the look ] within a couple of hours or so .
On a movie set , they usually shoot about two , three minutes per day of footage , right ? When you watch a movie and two minutes go by , that ’ s actually maybe a day ’ s work . But when it ’ s an action scene , it can take up to two weeks if it ’ s a car chase . For TV series , five to seven minutes of screen time equals a day of shooting . So , it ’ s important to be prepared .
PL & P : How did your path lead you to this kind of lighting work ?
Sadler : I think it was a combination of things . Part of it was I kind of wanted to stop touring , or I wanted to be on the road less in general . So , I started taking more work through Bell Media . I did a few seasons of Big Brother Canada as a board op working for the designer for that show . So , I just started taking on more TV work , because it was based in the city and I had to travel less . And then I think television was the next step as far as my career . Touring was great and really fun , and very creative and stuff , but I think I wanted to try another skill set , and TV requires different sorts of skills than touring .
Keenleyside : I went to York University for undergraduate theatre , I did production , lighting , design , and technical direction there . Then I started working in live entertainment in Toronto . So , theatre , concerts , theme parks , trade shows , stuff like that , and then bopping around doing a bit of freelance , and then ended up in IATSE Local 58 , where it ’ s mostly theatre and live entertainment work there .
I found myself enjoying the lighting thing and enjoying lighting programming specifically , and got a call to cover someone on a TV show for a couple of weeks from our sister Local 873 in Toronto . I came in and found my way around ; very different environment . And then kind of kept at it , kept taking gigs , and the people that I was working for were wonderful . They kind of ushered me into this end of the business . And so , I came in as an on-set programmer , and then did a couple shows , stuck around , and ended up on Star Trek : Discovery . I did a few seasons of that on
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PHOTO : KYLE LOFTUS / PEXELS